The present invention relates to wet shaving implements employing disposable cartridges which are removably connected to a razor handle, and more particularly to a receptacle for retaining the cartridges in side by side relation and oriented to be connected to a razor handle and dispensed for use in the shaving process.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,742,909, issued to Apprille, Jr. et al. and assigned to the assignee of the present invention, there is disclosed a shaving cartridge retaining casing and storage tray of the type which is the subject of the present invention. The device comprises a tray having a plurality of individual casings which are adapted to retain a single safety razor cartridge unit which is detachably engageable with a safety razor handle. The structure in each casing retains the head unit of the cartridge against accidental removal in such a manner that the blade is protected against damage while held within the casing. Each of the cartridges when engaged with the handle is withdrawable from the casing by a rocking motion of the handle and the casings are slidable from the tray with the respective cartridge contained within the casing. Thus, a design of this type comprises a tray with separate casings one for each of the cartridges to be retained within the tray.
While the structure disclosed above has proved successful the manufacture of a separate casing for each of the razor blade cartridges, in addition to the tray for holding the casings requires a number of processing steps, as well as the employment of separate materials for the casings and the tray, adding to the expense of the razor blade cartridge dispenser.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a one piece receptacle for retaining and dispensing the razor blade cartridges which retains the features of providing access to the cartridges for attachment to a razor handle while retaining the cartridges against accidental removal and protecting the blade contained in each cartridge.
A further object of the invention is to provide a one piece receptacle for retaining and dispensing a plurality of razor blade cartridges which is simple to manufacture and provides a saving in material and manufacturing cost over those of the prior art.
Another object of the invention is to provide a one piece receptacle for retaining and dispensing a plurality of razor blade cartridges which is easily adaptable to assembly into a razor holding device or other razor handling article.